Any Japanese Maple may be propagated with cuttings & also by grafting & or seed. Best soil is well drained soil with a high % sand, crushed stone, prelite or similar material.Take cuttings of firm bew growth apply 1-2% IBA (rooting hormone) Takes 6-8 weeks to root.

Tom,
Most collectable Japanese Maples are grafted. There is a very small chance that you can root a cutting and if you are sucessful the root system will not grow strong enough to support the tree. It may survive for some time but will eventually die.
Seed will not come true to the mother BUT you may end up with a very interesting plant.

The best and safest way is to graft. There is a ton of information on grafting via the internet.

Grancru

I have a beautiful small (young 2 1/2' tall) crimson queen lace leaf in my raised garden. It looks so pretty and full and this being it's first spring "planted". The question is, during it's first winter (zone 5), it was a bare stick as it should be but as spring approached, the buds formed about 8-10" below the lead or top branch. Could this be from frost? what do i do with the bare tip as the rest of the 6-7 pretty branches are healthy and full? problem #2: The lowest branch about 1" above mulch broke off over the winter, possible frost, wind, or critter passing by...??? however, i cut in clean and stuck the branch in a vase of water, i change it out every 2-3 days, the stem bloomed with buds, and is almost full of leaves, can it be saved? no real root has formed, what is a good 'Next Step' to save the little branch? I thought about grafting in onto my maple in the garden, but don't want to chance killing it, being that i'm a novice gardener...can you help?

thanks to all in advance for the advice.

-kelli

Kelli,
If the leader is dead simply cut it off and maybe stake one of the other branches to train a new leader. If it looks like there is still life let it go a little to see if it will push new growth.
As for the branch, throw it away. The window for grafting has passed until after the summer push and the piece you have will be no good. It most likely will not root and if it does it will be weak and probably not survive a couple years only to dissappoint.

Best of luck!
Grancru

Ok i have a tree i would also like to take cuttings from but sources on the internet are quite conflicting. Some say cuttings won't work while others say they have 80% success. Has anyone here successfully taken cuttings from a Japanese maple?

A couple rules of thumb.....

1.The vigor of the given cultivar can often tell you the "ease of rooting"...strong growing forms root easier than slower forms.
2.Acer pal. diss. forms can be rooted...but poor root system and resulting growth rate leave a lot to be desired.

Years ago an older nurseryman in Canby,Orygun used to root several dozen cultivars and he figured it out over many years, the bonsai folks loved it........

I would suggest that you read the section on Acer palmatum in Michael Dirrs book. You will get a good idea of all the factors involved. In order to root A.p. you will have to:
1. take the cuttings at the right time of year
2. use the correct medium
3. use the recommended growth regulator treatment
4. provide the right atmosphere for rooting
5. provide the correct light intensity.
... and more.

I would recommend trying layering. The 'weeping' varieties have lots of branches close to the ground so layering is really easy. I've produced dozens of new plants of many different A.p. varieties by layering. It takes about 5minutes to do a layer. You do have to wait a year or two for a good root system to develop but you can then just sever the branch and you have a new plant ready to go.

Hope this helps,
-=beeky

I have propagating 'Bloogood' Japanese maples from cuttings for a few years. This year I stuck over 5,000 of them several of them are already forming roots. They grow off as good or better than grafted 'Bloodgood' that some of my friends have.

Nervous

What is the best root stock to graft onto ?

We purchased a variety of Japanese Maples and before we could plant them all one of the larger ones tipped over and crushed the small lacey red one knocking off all its branches. All that is left is the main trunk, about 8 inches tall. Is there any hope of salvaging this little tree? It looks as though it had been grafted in the past so I wondered if it could be grafted again. Any help would be appreciated!

To the best of my knowledge the following cultivars can be rooted from cuttings:

Japanese Maples Grown From Cuttings
(No Parentheses: Unqualified, Will Grow Using
Any Method)

Acer shirasawanum (softwood cuttings)
Aconitifolium (softwood cuttings)
AdrianâÂÂs Compact
Aka omote (softwood cuttings)
Amber Ghost
Arakawa
Attaryi (softwood cuttings)
Autumn Moon (softwood cuttings)
Aureum (softwood cuttings)
Baby Ghost
Barbara
Beni kawa (softwood cuttings)
Bloodgood
Fireglow
First Ghost
Geisha
Geisha Gone Wild
Ghost Dancer
Giant Moon (softwood cuttings)
Glowing Embers (softwood cuttings)
Grandma Ghost
Green Elf (semi-hardwood cuttings)
GwenâÂÂs Rose Delight
Itaya (softwood cuttings)
Julia
Kawaii
Kurabu yama
Ki setsudde
Kiyohime
Meigetsu (softwood cuttings)
Microphyllum (softwood cuttings)
Mikawa nishiki
Mikazuki
Moonrise (softwood cuttings)
Nicholsonii
Oto hime (softwood cuttings)
Orido nishiki
Peve Dave
Red Dawn (softwood cuttings)
OâÂÂisami (softwood cuttings)
Ojishi
Oregon Fern (softwood cuttings)
Osakazuki
Otaki (softwood cuttings)
Red Dawn (softwood cuttings)
Ruby Ridge
RuthâÂÂs Red
Sango kaku
Saotome
Seiun kaku
Shaina
Shishigashira
Shiraname
Shira Red (softwood cuttings)
Sister Ghost
Superbum
Toshi
Takinogawa (softwood cuttings)
Viridis
Vitifolium (softwood cuttings)
Watezz
Yama kagi (softwood cuttings)
Yasemin

Do not have as wide a selection, but those I do have, have rooted easily, using nothing special. Al

Just because most maples are grafted onto a different root stock doesn't mean they can not use their own root system if propagated by cutting. Sometimes growers graft on root stock because the plant they use the roots from happen to do better in their soil, that may not be the only reason but it is a big part of it. So don't be discouraged trying to root your cuttings. Directorrod thank you for the list of Acer's

I've successfully air layered my japanese maples.

I let the layers stay on for most of spring, through summer (no root growth during the summer), and into about mid fall. I then cut them off, potted them, and overwintered them in a greenhouse. Looking back, I might have left them on longer, but the layers survived so I guess it was long enough.

From reading around the web, mostly on bonsai forums, I've heard that most maples are quite receptive to air layering.

It's definitely my favorite way of propagating trees, shrubs, etc. Very low maintenance once you get it set up.

With regards to cuttings, I've seen several 5'+ tall acer palmatum 'Tsukasa's Silhouette' propagated from cuttings at a local nursery.

I throw them in a water bottle roots in 4 weeks. 7th year. Works fine for me. There worth allot to.